The present invention concerns a tire pressure sensor device, for example for an aircraft. More particularly, but not exclusively, this invention concerns a tire pressure sensor device and a method of monitoring the pressure of a tire on an aircraft. The invention also concerns an aircraft including multiple such tire pressure sensor devices, and a kit of parts including such a tire pressure sensor device.
Some modern aircraft, with landing gear assemblies, are equipped with an integrated tire pressure indicating system. Such a tire pressure indicating system includes tire pressure sensors which take tire pressure measurements which are displayed in a cockpit of the aircraft.
An integrated aircraft tire pressure monitoring system is disclosed in US-A-2008/0055060. A sensor senses an operating parameter of the tire (such as pressure or temperature), and a signal related to the sensed parameter is transmitted to a reader located on or in an aircraft fuselage. The reader may also transmit some or all of the information to another device, such as a display.
Despite the advent of integrated aircraft tire pressure monitoring systems, there are still ways in which tire pressure indicating could be improved.
Such integrated tire pressure indicating systems do not make it easy for ground crew to check tire pressure of an aircraft when performing tire pressure checks, as they are then required to board the aircraft and access the tire pressure indicating system, which may not be a trivial task.
Some aircraft do not include any integrated tire pressure measuring and indicating systems. Retro-fitting such a system is an expensive and time-consuming process.
Alternatively, tire pressures may be check manually on a tire by tire basis by means of manually attaching and using a portable pressure gauge device. Such manual checks may also be the subject of improvement.
With manual tire pressure checks, it may be difficult to make and maintain a reliable record of aircraft tire pressures. The conditions at which tire pressures are manually taken may vary. The intervals between the recording of reliable tire pressure measurements may at best be once every flight, and may in certain circumstances be less frequent. Thus, whilst tire pressures may be readily checked manually, the systematic recordal of such measurements may be difficult to implement and manage.
The present invention seeks to mitigate one or more of the above-mentioned problems. Alternatively or additionally, the present invention seeks to provide an improved tire pressure sensing device for an aircraft.